


Dogma

by vjs2259



Series: Season 2 Re-Watch [21]
Category: Babylon 5
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 12:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6704191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vjs2259/pseuds/vjs2259
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Filling in the gaps of the S2 re-watch, inspired by Points of Departure.</p>
<p>John Sheridan has a difficult assignment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dogma

**Author's Note:**

> “The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion.”  
> Abraham Lincoln, 1862

John Sheridan kicked the rungs of the wooden chair hard. It wasn’t fair. It had been the deal every summer. He had two weeks, two whole weeks, of freedom. It was the only real time off he had all year. Between school and traveling with his Dad on school breaks he was on duty all the time. Mom kept his nose to the grindstone at home and Dad made every trip into a lesson. The two weeks at his uncle’s every summer was supposed to be his own time, time to spend doing what he wanted.

Looking out the window of the compact farmhouse, he could see the group of kids walking away. They were silent until they reached the end of the drive, then he could see a ball tossed back and forth and laughter begin to ring out between them. Mulishly he stared at the screen in front of him. It wasn’t fair.

“Hard, isn’t it?”

His uncle’s voice sounded behind him and he jumped slightly. He hadn’t heard Uncle Matt come back into the kitchen. “It’s okay,” he grumbled. He poked at the screen, scrolling down the interminable list.

  
Matt settled into a chair next to John and pulled the screen around. “Good Lord,” he said, looking at the titles. “What did you do to deserve this?”  
John ran his hand through his short sandy hair, leaving parts of it bolt upright. He looked down at the table and mumbled, “My grades slipped a little last semester.” Glancing up, he noted the sympathy in his uncle’s hazel eyes. “It’s not fair!” John ground out between clenched teeth. “I didn’t do that bad, and this is the only chance I get to play pick-up ball all year. That academy they have me at doesn’t even a baseball team!” His voice cracked with incredulity.

  
Matt nodded, and said, “I know it’s important to you. I told the boys you’d be along as soon as you were done. They’re happy to hang out at the field until you get there.”

  
John yanked back the screen. Rebellion stormed in his eyes and his lips thinned. “I will never get through one of these and write enough about it to please Dad in time.” He looked out the window in despair. “It’s after one o’clock already. This will take hours.”

  
Matt looked at him steadily. “I suggest you start earlier tomorrow then.” He glanced through the list. “Speeches of Famous Men. That was your father’s suggestion, wasn’t it? So every day you have to pick one, read it, and write a paragraph or so, telling your Dad what you think of it. I suspect what he really wants to know is if you have the self-discipline to follow a punishment through to the end.”

  
John straightened in the chair. “I’ll do it.” Then he looked at the list again. “I’ve never even heard of most of these people.”

  
“Maybe that’s part of what your Dad wants to teach you. There’s a lot to learn from folks that have gone through things in the past. See how they dealt with it then, apply it in the future.” Matt leaned forward and put one hand on John’s. “David tells me you’re thinking of EarthForce. These men and women,” he nodded towards the screen, “Their words inspired others to follow them, sometimes into hell and back. Not a bad thing to know about in that line of work.”

  
Picking up the screen, John squinted at the small type. He touched one line and the screen flickered and settled into paragraphs and words. “This one’s really old. I’ll try it.” He flashed a smile at his uncle. “And tomorrow I’ll have the next one done before breakfast.”

  
“That’s my boy,” said Matt. He patted the boy’s hand, then rose a bit stiffly and stretched. “I’m going to see to the horses. If you’re done with your work early tomorrow, you can help me with that before the other kids get here.”

  
“Thanks,” said John. His lips moved slightly and his forehead wrinkled as he tried to parse the formal and archaic words. In dismay he exclaimed, “This has a lot about budgets and bills and a long list of things he’s done. What can I write about that?”

  
“Read the beginning to get the pitch, then skip to the end,” advised Matt. “That’s where they get to the wind-up and delivery, the last few paragraphs.”

  
John laughed uneasily, “Isn’t that cheating?”

  
“The main idea, that’s what your father wants to hear about,” answered Matt. “Then you can play a while and read the rest before bed. You do have to read it all, and today. Just not all at once.” He winked at John, who flushed.

  
“I’ll read it all,” he promised. “Uncle Matt, what’s a dogma?” He was staring at the screen, perplexed.

  
“Well, it’s something that everyone accepts as true. Someone in charges says it or maybe it’s part of a religious belief, something like that.”

  
“But, is it true?” asked John. “How do you tell?”

  
“You have to make up your own mind about that,” says Matt. “Experience helps. Paying attention to who’s saying it. Do you trust them? Use your common sense too. And sometimes you can feel something’s true, deep inside.” He paused at the door, looking out at the hard earth, dry from the summer heat. The heat in the air shimmered. “You dad okay with you trying for EarthForce?” There was no answer, and he turned, hand still flat against the wood of the screened door. “John?” From the back he could see the flush on his nephew’s neck, bare with the short haircut the boy now favored. He knew David had hoped the John would follow him into the diplomatic corps, and his brother had been known to push to get what he wanted.

  
John remained silent, eyes fixed on the screen. Matt knew loyalty to his father would keep him silent if there was any trouble. He vowed silently to speak with his brother. The boy had to be left to follow his heart.

  
“Listen to this,” John suddenly demanded. “ ‘The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation.’ ” John looked up, his eyes aglow. “That’s what I want. To serve with honor. To fight if I have to. To protect Earth.” He ducked his head, seemingly embarrassed at his own fervor.

  
John’s voice had suddenly dipped in timbre at the end of this declaration and Matt swallowed a grin. He was at that age. Boy was going to have a fine baritone when it settled. “That’s a fine goal to have,” answered Matt seriously. “There’s not much fighting on Earth any more, thank the Lord, but who knows what we’ll find out there.” He gestured towards the clouds now shadowing the bright summer sun. “Got to be ready for anything. EarthForce is our first line of defense.”

  
John nodded, his eyes back on the screen. He pointed towards it. “Here’s the part I’ll write up for Dad. ‘We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth.’ This was an Earth president, of the old United States. He was fighting a war; that big one about slavery.” He stared straight ahead, thinking aloud. “I like that. ‘The last best hope of Earth.’ The war meant more than just one side winning or losing, more than just one country surviving intact or even whether the slaves were freed. It was about deciding who we were, as a country and a people.” He smiled happily, “And he referred to the whole Earth as being part of the struggle. Included all the people of Earth. That’s looking ahead, isn’t it? This was hundreds of years before the Earth Federation!”

  
Matt nodded. “Forward-thinking, that President Lincoln was. Now you’ve got the base of what you want to write, get it down and send it off. There’s plenty of daylight left, sun’ll be up late this time of year. Just be home in time to get supper and finish the reading before lights out.” He realized he was speaking to himself as the sounds of fingers on keys were all the response he got from his nephew. Smiling, he pushed open the door. He’d speak to David soon. If they had a soldier on their hands, best prepare him to be a good one.

 

from Abraham Lincoln’s Second Annual message to Congress  
Dec. 1, 1862

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

  
Fellow-citizens, we can not escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation.

  
We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free--honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just--a way which if followed the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless."


End file.
